The Little Red Dress
by PlaceboNut
Summary: Sephiroth is intrigued by the impassive woman in the red dress. He takes up the challenge to do as no one has done before: to impress her.


**The Little Red Dress**

Chapter One:

He had thought it strange they were giving him a Wednesday night off. There was always a catch…

The President was holding another of his high-class business balls, the kind where the rich and powerful and the young and beautiful pretend to have a sophisticated evening of nibbles, champagne and dancing before disappearing suspiciously into closets and behind bushes. Although Sephiroth was never actually _told_ to attend them, it was always "highly recommended", so he would usually make a brief appearance.

The General took a sip of the expensive red wine from the crystal glass held delicately in his un-gloved hand. It felt nice to be out of his work clothes, though it did feel strange. Although he was no longer required to wear a Shinra uniform, Sephiroth always made sure to keep his work life as separate from his very limited social life as possible, even going so far as to reserve certain clothes for each.

Tonight he was dressed in a smart black suit, white shirt and a green tie which women always gushed over; apparently it matched his eyes. It was not the most comfortable of attire, but he usually enjoyed wearing it, saving it for specific occasions. When he put on that suit, he felt like a completely different person. He was not a soldier anymore, but one of the gentlemen in the novels he had read as a child. Locked in a laboratory for most of his childhood, those novels had become his guide to social etiquette for when he was finally allowed into the real world. It annoyed him that Hojo was often given credit for his impeccable manners.

Looking down at the half empty glass, the Shinra General swirled the ruby liquid, admiring the colour. It was a colour many associated with fear, often representing pain, suffering and war in the form of blood. However, he could not help but like it. When Sephiroth saw red, it usually meant victory.

"…Isn't that right, Sir?" Sephiroth's eyes flicked up to the face of his Second in Command, Zack Fair, but he was not given time to answer as the dark-haired SOLDIER continued his enthusiastic re-enactment of the General and his latest heroic adventure. The two busty floozies hanging on his every word swooned as he exaggerated the size of the monster that had wreaked havoc on Bill's chocobo farm and of their brave attempts to take it out.

Sephiroth's eyes roamed the ballroom, only half listening to Zack's story. He did not bother to correct any of the many inaccuracies in the SOLDIER's tale, 'He's only trying to get laid, after all,' he thought with a measure of understanding.

A bright flash of colour in the corner of his vision pulled the General's emerald eyes to another part of the room. The brightness he had seen belonged to a little red dress, being worn by a pale woman with shiny golden hair falling in gentle waves down over her shoulders. She was engaged in conversation with a short man with a ridiculously curled moustache which reminded Sephiroth somewhat of a stereotypical French chef. He seemed to be doing most of the talking.

Though her body language suggested he had her full attention, Sephiroth watched as her eyes moved around the room and imagined the little man's story was about as uninteresting as the one he was currently featuring in to his right. Her tinkling laugh an act so believable he found himself quite impressed, and rather intrigued.

The General doubted Zack even heard him as he quietly excused himself and strode towards the Entrance door, where a man was standing guard. Dressed in the infamous blue suit of a Turk, Tseng had an earpiece and a microphone hooked over his ear and a pistol clearly visible at his hip. Sephiroth knew that as a part of the raven haired man's job description, he would know every personal detail about every guest at the President's party.

Sephiroth casually leaned his back against the wall beside the young Turk.

"Tseng," he acknowledged politely.

"Can I help you, General?" Tseng asked with complete professionalism.

"The blonde woman in the red dress," Sephiroth said with a nod in her direction. "What do you know about her?"

"Is there a problem, Sir?" the Turk asked, resting a hand on his weapon.

"No. Please just answer my question." The authority in his voice seemed to provide him with the response he wanted.

"Her name is Kimberly Skarlettski," Tseng began. "She is an engineer, employed by Shinra less than a year ago, though she has already made her way to Level 71 in HQ. It seems she has quite a talent for weapon design.

"She and her team designed many of the more high-tech equipment used in the last few months of the war against Wutai. Many people within the company believe that without her, Shinra wouldn't have had advanced enough weapons to end the war when we did."

Sephiroth watched her intently across the room as Tseng spoke. He could certainly imagine such things of her: the way she held herself with such dignity and confidence, she was a woman of passion and drive, willing to go to any lengths to achieve her goal. He respected people like her.

"She is more commonly known as Scarlet," Tseng continued. "I think it may have started as a mispronunciation of her name, but could also be because she always wears red. She can also be quite nasty, many of the younger staff members are afraid of her."

Sephiroth continued to watch her as her façade of interest in the moustached man speaking to her had gradually evaporated. She had clearly gotten what she wanted from him, she now no longer bothered to hide her bored expression. Sephiroth almost felt sorry for the little man as he tried unsuccessfully to regain her interest with jokes.

Picking up a small hors d'œuvre from one of the long tables, the blonde inspected it closely before she decided it unworthy of eating. Instead, she raised her own champagne class to her elegant lips and took a sip. Sephiroth almost missed it, but a subtle crease formed at the bridge of her nose.

'The finest food and wine on the continent and still she wrinkles her nose in distain,' Sephiroth thought, even more intrigued. He almost smiled at the challenge she seemed to present. If what was available at tonight's occasion was not good enough, he would just have to find out what is. He would impress this woman, whatever it took.

The General pushed himself off the wall and made his way towards her, not bothering to thank Tseng for his information. Still a few steps away from her, Sephiroth reach out and plucked a red rose from one of the bouquets decorating the tables.

Thankfully, she had managed to disengage herself from the company of the man with the moustache, and was now hovering casually on her own.

"Excuse me?"

Sephiroth put on his most charming smile as she spun around gracefully. He remained still when she looked him up and down, intelligence burning through a pair of eyes that took in every detail of his appearance.

"Yes?"

"Miss Skarlettski," Sephiroth dipped forward in a shallow bow and offered her the rose. "My name is Sephiroth."

"I know who you are, General," Scarlet said, reaching out to accept the flower. Before her fingertips reached the stem, Sephiroth caught her hand and leaned down to brush the back of it with his lips.

'She has lovely nails,' he noted, wondering idly how much she was involved in the practical side of building the instruments of destruction she was so good at designing.

"Then how would you like to join me for dinner this Friday night?" Sephiroth asked, gently letting her hand slide away with the rose. "There is a Wutain restaurant in the Entertainment District called Oishii. Let's say, 8 o'clock?"

A neat blonde eyebrow arched in curious amusement.

"Let me think about it," she said airily, though Sephiroth did not miss the slight quirk at the edges of her mouth.

He nodded politely and turned to walk away, but stopped a few steps away and looked back over his shoulder. She was still watching him.

"Wear that dress," he said, and then walked away.

………

End of Chapter One

This is a pairing I've never actually seen before, but for some reason I think it could work. I suppose I'll just have to wait and see how it pans out…

Reviews would be appreciated, I like to know what other people think :)


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